By Laura French
SPOTSWOOD, N.J. — The former director of a New Jersey EMS squad has filed a lawsuit against the town where he worked, alleging a series of hostile and unethical actions by one of his former supervisors.
Former Spotswood EMS Director and EMT David Nichols said he faced “civil rights violations, harassment and retaliation” from Borough Administrator Dawn McDonald and was forced to resign in April 2019, according to Patch.com.
Among his allegations are that McDonald spread defamatory claims that he was a “pimp” who invited town police officers to the EMS station to have sex with female EMTs, that McDonald used security cameras to spy on him, in one instance texting him, “How is that sandwich?” while he was eating lunch, and that McDonald asked him for access to confidential patient records and got access from someone else when he refused.
“Indeed, not all employees are willing to stand up to McDonald’s illegal requests as it is widely known among borough employees that she would ‘go after’ those who refused her demands,” the lawsuit states.
McDonald was placed on administrative leave and investigated for claims made by Nichols in July, but the town found “no evidence of harassment, retaliation, discrimination or defamation.”
The borough of Spotswood, Mary Ed Seely and McDonald are all named as defendants in the lawsuit.